Waste Management Policy in Four ASEAN Countries: Emerging Contemporary Issues from Research Works

Southeast Asia faced an urgent waste crisis, particularly in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, threatening severe environmental, ecosystem, and public health. Without a comprehensive waste management policy, conditions deteriorated significantly. This research explored waste management policy studies with a bibliometric lens in four Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Using Scopus database and powered by VOSViewer software and bibliometrix-R studio package, this research provided a precise visualization. The findings revealed that four countries exhibited an upward yet fluctuating trend in publication output, with Indonesia emerging as the leading contributor in recent years. Furthermore, most documents studied by scholars, highest impact documents, and most documents in journal sources were also discussed. Two affiliates in Malaysia were leading affiliates, followed by two affiliates from Thailand. Moreover, environmental science and social science were areas of interest for scholars. Term network trajectory mapping and thematic maps were comprehensively included. In sum, Indonesia fought hard against plastic waste to minimize climate change, while Malaysia focused on addressing waste emissions and household waste. The Philippines tried to highlight microplastic problem in the ocean and public awareness of waste management. Thailand needed attention on financing waste management equipment and environmentally friendly solutions and reviewing waste management rules. Its implications underlined a new complex of waste issues in Southeast Asia, requiring adapted strategies and solutions to address each country’s waste challenges and concerns. Current research contributed to existing state-of-knowledge by providing disaggregated views of national waste management policy in those countries. It also highlighted key potential future hotspots for targeted interventions and resource allocation, thus, future policies and collaborations in waste management might have become more effective and impactful.